Broadcast Hysteria

2015-07-04T20:00:46-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/45c/20150629013813002_hd.jpgA. Brad Schwartz talked about his book, Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, about the reaction to the 1938 Orson Welle’s radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. The broadcast had six million listeners, one million of which said they believed it was real. In his book, Mr. Schwartz argues that while the myth of the broadcast creating a widespread panic is still conventional wisdom, the real concern of listeners at the time was over the power of radio in society. A video about the book which included historical images, including remarks by Orson Welles, was also played.

A. Brad Schwartz talked about his book, Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, about the reaction to the…
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A. Brad Schwartz talked about his book, Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, about the reaction to the 1938 Orson Welle’s radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. The broadcast had six million listeners, one million of which said they believed it was real. In his book, Mr. Schwartz argues that while the myth of the broadcast creating a widespread panic is still conventional wisdom, the real concern of listeners at the time was over the power of radio in society. A video about the book which included historical images, including remarks by Orson Welles, was also played. close